Passover is a miraculous time of year. Yes, for the careful observation of religious tradition, of course, but also for the Manischewitz wine and, of course, Streit’s matzo. Because let’s face it—the domination of these brands over the holiday is nothing short of miraculous. Ashley Albert, founder of the Matzo Project, thought it was high time that the brittle and flavorless unleavened bread got a desperate update. The aha moment hit her right outside the New York Streit’s factory where she was walking with her mom. Peeking through the windows to watch the bakers, a worker noticed them and passed over a fresh matzo right from the oven. She recalls, “It was the freshest matzo I’d ever encountered and, amazingly, it still managed to taste stale!”
She soon tapped her old Jewish summer camp buddy, Kevin Rodriguez, to be her business partner and help her on the mission to free everyone from the same ol’ matzo. They launched the Matzo Project, baking off hand-rolled crackers one at a time and sprinkling them with innovative toppings like Himalayan sea salt, cinnamon sugar and “everything” seasoning (a riff on another Jewish classic!). And while flavor might be the most noticeable difference from grandma’s matzo, the texture is wildly different too – snappy and sturdy, able to withstand some heavy dipping sauces. (As you well know, Streit’s crumbles under even the least chunky of haroset.)
The bag sports the company mascot, a Jewish bubbe with heavy glasses, joking, “Would it kill you to try something new?” Clearly their goal is to move matzo out of the dusty ethnic food aisle and into the modern snack space. With a product like this, we don’t think it’ll be all too long. But call your mother, will you?
Note: Matzo Project matzo is indeed kosher (thank G-d), but not Kosher for Passover. Yet.